The Rendezvous opened this last Saturday and I've been there ever since. It's an amazing place to hang out, snack, drink, socialize, listen to the jukebox, play Ms. Pac Man, knit, crochet, write, or waste time. Here's pictures!!
What would you eat? What would Brian Boitano do? What are your guilty pleasures? What can you live without? Do you know any freegans?
Jennifer Aniston brushes her teeth in the shower.
Cate Blanchett doesn't wash her hair.
Discuss.
Does a vegetable grown with organic fish fertilizer constitute appropriate food to serve a vegetarian?
Discuss.
I've started paying attention to my pea patch again. The parsley and basil are doing pretty good. The one tomato plant that didn't get eaten by a bunny has flowers on it, so that's promising. The bell peppers look really sad though ... I kinda failed to fertilize or water them at key moments. We'll see.
Yesterday I added chocolate mint, oregano, and thyme to the pea patch mix because it's hard to kill herbs!
There's still a little space left in the patch, if I weed it. Maybe broccoli? Cabbage?
I might have eaten more vegetables when I was a youngin. (Ah, the sad curse of a public health nurse stuck with a stubborn child.)
My adult discovery (yes, I'm an adult) is that I'll actually eat broccoli (!) if it's smothered in cheese sauce, soy sauce, or some other variation of an Asian sauce (recommendation: mix up soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil for your broccoli beef stir fry).
Since I can't eat dairy (due to a tragic allergy-like/hangover-like/full malais reaction), eating broccoli with cheese sause is problematic. NEVER FEAR! CHREESE IS HERE!
I decided to try to see if I could make a Chreese Broccoli Soup work. Sometimes when I read about Mrs. H having mac and cheese for dinner, I get out the Mac and Chreese. I know it's not the same as the real Satanic cheesey deal, but it's close enough. I'm sure Mrs. H would back me up on the sentiment: if you need Mac and
ch(r)eese, you need it.
On to the soup ... I surfed on the intersnot for recipe idears, bought me some organic broccoli, and went to work. I started with this recipe from Diana Rattray, as the basic framework.
Here's what I made tonight:
INGREDIENTS
2 bunches organic broccoli, washed and trimmed
1 sliced onion
5-7 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine (depends how much fat you like and how good you are at making a roux)
6 cups organic chicken broth, divided
1 teaspoon dried leaf oregano, crumbled
4 1.1 oz packets of Gluten-free Cheddar-style Chreese
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (you could add more too if you want)
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 cup soy milk
sea salt to taste
PREPARATION
Cut florets off broccoli and divide into small sections. Simmer in lightly salted water for 2 minutes; drain and immerse in cold water to stop cooking then set aside.
Cut stalks into small pieces; place in a large saucepan.
Add sliced onions and 3 tablespoons of soy margarine to saucepan; sauté over medium low heat for 5 minutes. Add 3 cups chicken broth and oregano to the saucepan; simmer 20 to 30 minutes. Carefully process hot mixture in batches in a blender until smooth.
Melt remaining 2-4 tablespoons soy margarine in saucepan; stir in 4 packets of Chreese and cook for a bit, making a roux. Add 1 cup of chicken broth and keep stirring until all the lumps are out of the Chreese mixture. Stir in mustard and pepper. Gradually stir in blended broccoli mixture and remaining 2 cups of chicken broth. Continue to cook, stirring, until mixture begins to bubble. Add soy milk. Add remaining broccoli florets and heat through. Broccoli chreese soup serves 8.
Someone had seconds tonight, and it wasn't Lucy! I served it with Redbush Chai, but I suspect there's some other beverage out there that's more appropriate.
